Stark County interviewing candidates for principal

Superintendent Jerry Klooster provided the Stark County School District with an update on a search for a new junior-senior high school principal at its January meeting.

An administrative team is scheduled to interview five candidates today (Jan. 30) for the position which opens July 1.

“Among the five candidates are a teacher, two principals, an assistant principal and a dean of students," said Klooster.

“If the committee is satisfied that we have an ample number of solid candidates, we will move on to a second phase of interviews with parent, teacher and administrator teams,” Klooster said.

Longtime junior-senior high school principal Mike Domico announced his plans to retire this year almost two years ago.

In other business, school board member Ron Turnbull reported that the district’s building committee met with Dan Gavin of the Farnsworth Group to discuss the status of a window replacement project being studied for the junior high school building in Toulon.

The project is estimated to cost between $300,000 and $400,000.

The board approved seeking bids for the window project which would be done this summer. A bid could be awarded at next month's meeting.

The Reduction in Force (RIF) Committee met recently and reached an agreement on protocols for reduction of certified staff. “These protocols follow the new law and only outline how a reduction might take place if needed," said Klooster. "No reduction recommendations have been made as of this date and no changes were made from last year’s agreement.”

The board also renewed the annual contract with the auditing firm Gorenz & Associates, to prepare the school district’s 2012-13 audit for a cost not to exceed $8,940. The cost reflected a 3-percent increase over last year.

A contract with G & E Lawn Service was approved for mowing the football field and a lot located on Grain Bin Road.

The work was bid at $20 per hour with a limit not to exceed 200 hours. Also approved was a contract with Shirley Striping, of Wyoming, to mark the football field at a cost of $12 per hour not to exceed 100 hours.

Domico reported that the eighth grade students from the Bradford School District had recently attended an informational meeting and open house at Stark County High School. The 22 students in this year’s Bradford eighth grade class are facing a March 1 deadline to commit to one of the three accepting school districts, Bureau Valley, Henry-Senachwine or Stark County under current high school deactivation agreements.

After an executive session, the school board approved the employment effective immediately of Audrey Alltop as music director at Stark County High School.